


Moving Forward

by canicallyoumaddie



Series: Our Story: A Domestic Klance AU [9]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Cats, Domestic!Klance, Female Pidge, Fluff, Implied Sexual Content, It's happening, Love, M/M, SO MUCH FLUFF, There's strong language in this fic, This was supposed to be a short fic about getting a cat, broganes, don't say I didn't warn you this is gonna be tooth rotting, happiness, it did not turn out that way, prepare your hearts, so much klance, the thing - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-04
Updated: 2017-03-04
Packaged: 2018-09-28 05:04:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10073192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/canicallyoumaddie/pseuds/canicallyoumaddie
Summary: The McClain-Kogane household gets a new addition! (spoiler: it's a cat)Hold on to your hats, my friends. It's getting real.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Here is a thing! I did not intend for this to be 3500 words. Whoops.

"KEITH!" 

 

He whirled around in the direction of the voice, to see Pidge carrying something bundled in a blanket. The blanket was writhing a little bit, confusing him. 

 

"What is that?" He asked, peering at the swaddled...thing. 

 

"It's a cat! I found him. He's a stray and he's the cutest!" Pidge exclaimed, tucking back the blanket and holding the cat out. It was a lovely light calico with grey, white, and peach patterns on its back. 

 

Keith's jaw dropped. "It's beautiful! Where did you find it?"

 

Pidge brought the cat back to her chest. "I found him dicking around in my yard, trying to eat the garter snakes. Rover’s been making a ton of noise for weeks, and lo and behold, it was because a cat was outside the whole time."

 

"I would totally keep him if I could, but you know Rover...he's pretty territorial," Pidge continued. "Do you think the other man of the house would mind you taking him in?"

 

Keith was tempted to just say “yes” on the spot, but decided to call Lance and get his opinion. 

 

"Hey babe, Pidge found a stray and I wanna keep it. …Uh-huh. It's a light calico shorthair. He's beautiful. Really?! Thank you so much, you are the best!" Keith's face had lit up during his conversation, pulling a grin from Pidge. 

 

"He said you could keep him?" She asked. 

 

Keith did a little victory dance. "Yes! As long as I make sure he's had shots and everything, we can keep him!" He exclaimed, grinning. 

 

"What are we waiting for? Put some pants on—we're going to the vet, Kogane."

 

A few days and tons of paperwork later, the cat fulfilled Lance's criteria for ownership, and Keith was over the moon. Lance wasn't opposed to a pet—especially one that was a little older and less energetic—but it was known in the household that the cat was primarily Keith's baby. Honestly, Lance didn't even mind that he had virtually no say about the name—Mulder—and thought it was cute to see Keith doting on the fuzzy animal. It was almost... _paternal_. 

 

Keith was oblivious to Lance's thoughts on the matter—he was preoccupied with getting Mulder settled—but whenever Lance looked at the two of them, he couldn't help but let his mind wander. They'd been dating for so long now; almost 5 years—through half of college, one year apart, and two years of living together in their little apartment—and Lance found himself going a stir crazy. Sure, he loved what he and Keith had at the moment, but...he couldn't help but feel like he wanted _more_. 

 

He was jolted out of his headspace by a heavy thud on his lap; Mulder had plopped down onto him, covering his hoodie with hair. "Keith, your cat's trying to steal my soul again!" He called into the kitchen, where Keith was making dinner for the two of them. 

 

"He likes you! You gotta bond with him—we'll have him for at least 5 more years, so you better play nice," Keith replied over the sizzle of the stove. 

 

"You're telling _me_ to play nice? I always play nice!"

 

Keith laughed, "You can get a little snarky when you get frustrated, honey."

 

Lance whirled around to face Keith. " _Excuse_? I am the nicest of the nice," he huffed, crossing his arms. 

 

"Oh, I know that first-hand—it's just that when your blood sugar dips, or you get frustrated, you can get a little... mean," Keith said carefully, realizing that he'd detoured from his planned teasing. "And I did not mean what I can _tell_ you think I meant," he added, eyeing Lance over the bar. 

 

Lance squinted at him and took a deep breath. Releasing it with a sigh, he replied, "Okay, you're right." He sounded dejected. “How long have you kept _that_ one bottled up?” Keith heard him mutter to himself.

 

Keith took the pan off the stove, set it on a cool burner, and walked around to the couch. He stood in front of Lance with his hip cocked to the left, head tilted to the right. "You know I love you, right?"

 

Lance nodded. 

 

"And you know that we always have had a policy to call each other out on our shit—nicely," Keith continued. 

 

Lance nodded again, more slowly this time. 

 

"I know I probably hurt your feelings, and I'm very sorry for that—but I know you'd want me to know, if our roles were reversed. I am sorry for bringing it up out of the blue—that wasn’t fair." Keith knelt down in front of Lance, putting his hands on Lance's knees. "You are smart, beautiful, funny, _so_ extra, compassionate, and are fiercely your own person— “he interrupted himself to laugh, "—And I love _all_ of that about you. But I know that you like to grow as much and as often as possible, and I feel obligated to help you with that in any way I can." His eyes searched Lance's with a sincere understanding. 

 

Lance was thunderstruck, staring at him wide-eyed, and feeling his face turning crimson. He'd never heard Keith say all of this out loud before; sure, things were implied through looks or small touches here and there, but... _He's never actually articulated that to me before_...Lance thought, heart pounding. 

 

Keith looked at him, confused, and asked, "...Lance? Are you ok?"

 

Lance blinked a few times; it suddenly felt like he was looking at the sun. "M'okay," he managed to eke out without bursting into tears. 

 

"Lance, talk to me, please."

 

Keith had moved to sit beside him, but didn't remove the hand from his leg. Lance just stared at it for a moment. 

 

Keith sucked in a sharp breath. "I think I just killed my boyfriend," he murmured, giving Lance a little smile. He nudged Lance with an elbow, poked him with a finger—even ruffled his hair—but got no response from him. Keith came to the conclusion that he'd done fucked up, and went to the bedroom to lie down. 

 

Lance took out his phone so fast he could've given it whiplash, furiously typing a text out to Hunk. 

 

** Hunk, light of my life **

4:45 pm

 

**< Hunk. **

**< This is an emergency**

>What's going on

**< I'm trying to convince myself that I shouldn't propose today but I really am about to jump out of my skin if I don't. **

**< like i need to**

>Wait you're gonna what???

>dude are u sure 

>it's been a long time but

>you had a plan

**< no shit I had a plan and it was going to be amazing**

**< but**

**< hunk, he...**

>he waht?

**< you know the things **

**< that I've needed to hear but haven't been said explicitly before?**

>...

>yeah...

**< he said them. Today. While cuddling our cat. **

**< (By the way we have a cat now his name is Mulder--yes I know i shouldn't have let Keith name him)**

**< hunk **

**< i almost had a stroke **

**< it was so frickin cute **

**< it was "the sign". The "I wanna spend the rest of my life with this dude" sign.** 

>......

**< Aaaaaand you don't approve. **

>no, of course I approve im just shocked you wanna today

**< What's wrong with today?**

>it's duckin 5pm on a Saturday my pal

>fuckin*

**< Your point...?**

>*sigh* I can't think of one. 

>...

>do you need me to get anything 

>shit have you even gotten a ring?

< [ring.jpeg sent]

**< duh**

**< I got this a year ago, hunk **

>wait really

**< YES. **

**< do you SEE how I act around him?**

**< I refer to our apartment as the McClain-Kogane household. **

**< I can't even tell you how many times I've almost said I was "waiting on my husband" instead of boyfriend. **

>yeah I can see why you're freaking out. 

>go forth with shays and my blessing

> <3

**< love you too, guys. Thanks. Crap don't tell Pidge tho not yet **

>*zips lips* 

 

Lance groaned and sunk into the couch, formulating a plan. Keith was still in the bedroom, but maybe he could convince him to get out...

 

Lance suddenly remembered dinner. "Hey babe, you left the stove on!" He called out, getting up and moving slowly toward their room. 

 

He heard Keith mutter something as he passed, speed-walking to the kitchen. Lance into the bedroom and opened his bottom desk drawer. A small box lay in the back corner, obscured by papers. Lance took it and slipped it into the pocket of his jacket before Keith re-entered. 

 

Before Lance had called him, Keith had been furiously texting Pidge.

** K-holt **

4:45 pm

 

**_< shit Pidge help_ **

_> what did you do_

**_< I think I pissed him off_ **

_> by him do you mean Lance_

**_< no I meant mulder_ **

**_< of course I mean Lance_ **

_> what'd you do this time_

**_< I kind of criticized him_ **

**_< you know how snarky he gets when his blood sugars low and he can get mean_ **

**_< I told him he does that_ **

_> why_

**_< because tbh he needed to know_ **

**_< and it just slipped out_ **

**_< he did it yesterday and it made me mad_ **

_> what'd he do_

**_< just kinda nodded and stared _ **

_> what'd you say after dropping the bomb_

**_< "you know I love you," "you know we agreed to call each other on our shit," "you're smart beautiful funny extra and fiercely your own person and I love you for that"_ **

_> Keith_

_> you may have just killed him_

**_<?????_ **

_> k _

_> have you ever said that to him before _

**_<....not exactly _ **

**_< I mean he knows how I feel_ **

_> but like have you actually said those words before_

_> like why you love him_

**_< um_ **

**_< not like explicitly _ **

_> you done broke him_

**_< shit_ **

_> like in a good way but also you broke him_

 

Keith ran a hand through his hair and bit his lip. _Broke him? Was I not supposed to say that stuff out loud?_ He thought anxiously. 

 

_> like_

_> he's been wanting to hear that for years _

**_< wait _ **

**_< what_ **

_> Keith_

_> he'd NEVER ask you to your face, but he's desperate to know why you've stuck around for so long _

**_< wth he knows why_ **

_> but_

_> his anxiety doesn't believe you_

**_< ok...?_ **

_> like ok, he knows in his head why you love him but his anxiety keeps coming back and telling him you're gonna leave _

**_< id never do that..._ **

_> duh we all know that but Lance can't help that his brain is an asshole sometimes. _

**_< dammit_ **

**_< I should have said that stuff way sooner shouldn't I _ **

_> no shit Sherlock_

**_< crap I messed up_ **

_> no you didn't because he knows now_

  

"Hey babe? You left the stove on," he heard Lance call from the living room, and he cursed as he quickly left the bedroom, passing Lance in the hallway. 

 

Meanwhile, Lance was about to lose his mind. 

 

It dawned on him all at once what he was about to do, and the cliche "palms clammy, sweating profusely" thing started going on. 

 

 _I'm gonna ask him to marry me. Like, this is it,_ he thought. He had expected popping the question to be bittersweet; more like the end of an era. Instead, all he could think about was Keith's messy hair in the morning...Keith setting his shoes by the door when he came home...his blanket nests...

 

...and Lance knew. 

 

He'd known a year ago. But even though he was now sweating from excitement, he was not any less uncomfortable. He had briefly considered putting on a new shirt, when Keith walked back into the room. 

 

He seemed preoccupied with his phone, so Lance slowly approached him, arm outstretched. 

 

"What are you doing?" Keith asked, looking puzzled. 

 

Lance gently took the phone from him and set it face-down on their dresser. 

 

"Lance...what are you doing," Keith repeated, sounding apprehensive. Lance could tell he had tensed up, which was not encouraging. 

 

"Don't worry, I'm not mad at you or anything. I'm sure that's what you were worried about," Lance reassured him.

 

Keith nodded slowly, unconsciously gripping the dresser's corner. 

 

Lance reached out and took his hand, feeling it relax in his. He looked Keith dead in the eyes and tried his best not to have a panic attack. He must have looked intense, because Keith's face looked even more concerned than before. Lance tried to relax, taking about eleven deep breaths, before launching into a heartfelt (albeit quickly prepared) speech. 

 

"Keith."

 

"Lance...?"

 

He cleaned his throat. "You know by now that I'm pretty in love with you. And by 'pretty', I mean 'hopelessly.' I have been for years. And I am eternally grateful to Pidge for introducing us five years ago—"

 

"—Lance, what— "

 

"—Shush. Let me finish," Lance said, voice shaking. He continued.

 

"This relationship has brought me joy, taught me how to be a better person, and helped me learn that I can accept love from someone who is not only flawed like I am— “Lance smiled weakly, "—but also intelligent, caring, gorgeous...and wonderful."

 

Keith's eyes had a glassy look, and Lance could feel his heart in his throat. He could tell Keith knew what was happening, but he gave no sign that he would be interrupting him again. 

 

"You're more than I could've hoped for, and have surpassed my wildest dreams. I can’t imagine being with anyone else. I wanted to do this a while ago, but..," he fumbled for his pocket, pulling out the box, "it didn't seem right until today. And I'm a little pissed because I was gonna do something awesome, and then you were just being _you_ and I couldn't stand it." Lance was laughing through tears now, clinging to Keith's hand for dear life. He knelt in front of him. 

 

Keith let go of Lance's hand to bury his face in his own. He realized that he'd been an idiot—delaying something amazing because he was inattentive. He started to laugh, unbidden and  muffled, through his hands. He composed himself after a moment, smile still on his face, and looked down at a slightly panicked-yet-confused-yet-happy Lance. 

 

"What?" Lance asked delicately. 

 

"Just realizing how much of a moron I am. Please continue," Keith responded, tilting his head and reaching for Lance's hand again. 

 

"You're going to kill me one of these days," Lance chuckled, opening the box. He looked up. "You already know what I'm gonna ask."

 

Keith looked at him with a grin. "You already know what I'm gonna say."

 

A look of doubt crossed Lance's features as he considered the (unrealistic) possibility of Keith rejecting him. This prompted Keith to pull the ring out of the box, open Lance's hand, and place it in the center of his palm. 

 

Keith held his left hand out, palm downward, and wiggled his fingers. "It's a yes, you goob," he said, laughing. "I'm just realizing—if I'd been a little bit less oblivious we could have done this a while ago." 

 

Lance smirked. "Well, we all have things we can work on," he said, slipping the ring on Keith's finger and pulling him down to his level to kiss him. 

 

Dinner got cold and was forgotten for a good while. 

 

Later that evening, curled up on the couch, they were surprised to hear a loud banging on the door. 

 

"OPEN UP, YOU MOFOS!" A shrill voice said, only slightly muffled. 

 

"Sorry guys, I couldn't stop her!" A deeper, more apologetic voice followed soon after. 

 

The two men looked at each other, exasperated, and got up from their perch. 

 

"Did you tell her?" Lance asked, stretching. 

 

"No, but did you tell Hunk?" Keith responded. 

 

Lance nodded, grimacing. "I bet she dragged it out of him," he said, taking Keith's hand and walking to the door. "Time to deal with the inevitable."

 

The moment they unlocked the door, it flew open to reveal not only Hunk and Pidge, but Shiro, Allura, and Shay. 

 

Keith and Lance looked at them in shock. "W-Wait, so you _all_ know, now?" Lance sputtered, turning his eyes to Hunk. 

 

Hunk rubbed the back of his neck, sheepish. "Well, Keith and Pidge were talking earlier, and he thought you were mad, so when he stopped responding, she texted me; then I let it slip what was happening, then we _had_ to tell Shiro, and we couldn't just _not_ include Shay and Allura...," he rambled. 

 

Keith turned bright red and covered his face with the hand that didn't have Lance's in a death grip. Unfortunately, it happened to be his left one. 

 

"Oh my GOD!" Pidge screamed and pointed at his hand. 

 

"For the love of...come inside, you guys, and stop screaming," Lance muttered, ushering the group indoors. 

 

He leaned against the house with an unamused expression, and said, "Yes, we are very aware what happened. Before you give Keith a stroke—" 

 

Keith made a strangled noise. 

 

"—and give me a coronary, I'm going to clear the air and say right now that it's Mulder's fault that I proposed early," Lance concluded, looking pointedly at the cat. 

 

"Lance, you can't blame the cat—come on," Hunk said, crossing his arms. "It's a simple explanation. You had an epiphany and decided to propose now, rather than later."

 

"Exactly. Which is why I couldn't let any of you know beforehand. Except Hunk," Lance said, releasing Keith's hand to wave it absently. "But that's a given."

 

Shiro, who had been staring at Keith this whole time, looked like he was about to burst into a puff of glitter and rainbows. Keith opened his arms a little and shrugged invitingly. He regretted it as soon as Shiro made contact, though; he could hear his bones breaking. 

 

"I'm so happy for you two!" Allura exclaimed, stepping forward to gently encourage Shiro to stop suffocating his brother. "While the timing is unexpected, the outcome is definitely not a surprise!"

 

"Ha, yeah," Pidge cackled, "I knew it'd happen the minute I introduced you two."

 

"For that we are eternally grateful," Keith said, beaming at Lance. The look that passed between them was obvious. 

 

"Congratulations, you guys," Shay piped up, taking Hunk's arm. "Don't you think we should let them enjoy the rest of their evening? I'm sure they'll let us know when they'll be having the engagement party," she said, smiling knowingly at the pair. They responded with a look of gratitude. 

 

"All right, well, sorry to crash your evening! We just got excited," Hunk said, taking the hint. "Come on, you guys, let's head out." He shepherded the group toward the door, opening it and practically pushing them outside. "Congrats, you two," he said happily before closing the door. Lance and Keith waited for a moment until the scuffling and scraping noises (no doubt from Pidge being bodily dragged away) subsided. 

 

Keith looked at the clock, and noticed it had started getting late. Lance followed his line of sight, and nudged him.

 

“Don’t you think we should head to sleep?” He asked, smiling at his new fiancé.

 

Keith looked at him suspiciously, a smirk appearing across his lips. “Do you really think I’m going to believe that just you want to ‘head to sleep’ after today?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. He laughed when Lance turned red and looked away. “I love it when you get embarrassed—it’s a luxury I do not often get to have.” He stepped toward Lance, wrapping an arm around his waist.

 

“I’m dead. I think you’ve finally killed me. Tell my children to avenge me—I must not have died in vain!” Lance wailed, going boneless in Keith’s arms.

 

“So, you’re suggesting Mulder avenge you?” Keith said, rolling his eyes with a smile. “Because you’re sorely mistaken if you think he would ever attack me.”

 

Lance stood up, smashing his face into Keith’s shoulder. “Well, I guess I will have lived a life in vain. Have fun knowing you were the cause of my death, my dear,” he said, still managing to sound dramatic.

 

“And what, pray tell, is the reasoning behind this accusation?” Keith asked, trying to suppress laughter and play along.

 

Lance looked up at him and smiled softly, turning pink. “It’s always the spouse!”

 

Keith groaned and pulled him along to the bedroom. “You are so _lame!_ ”

 

“You see what I did there?” Lance said, grinning from ear to ear and waggling his eyebrows. “Because you’re gonna marry me, and then you’ll be my spouse. So, the police will suspect you when I die.”

 

Keith couldn’t help but blush as he pulled Lance into a hug. “I’m gonna marry the heck out of you,” he whispered in Lance’s ear, making him squirm.

 

“This is the greatest day of my _life_!” Lance yelled, and the two collapsed on the bed together, giggling in between kisses.

 

Keith pulled back for a moment to look Lance in the eyes, and said, “I couldn’t imagine myself with anyone else either, just so you know.” His features had softened, and he leaned in close to whisper.

 

“This is the greatest day of my life, too.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry if I killed any of you with the fluff; believe me, it messed me up, too. It was supposed to be a cute fluffy cat fic and then it turned into *gestures to computer* this. I hope you liked it, though! I always love comments and kudos: it makes me a happy bean! 
> 
> Here's to a future of married Klance, where Lance won't look weird for calling Keith his husband.


End file.
